The livewire (Khoobsurat)

What a jolly, buoyant film Khoobsurat is! And, it definitely bears the stamp of Hrishikesh Mukherjee, its director. It's frothy, fun and engaging from the word go. You don't have to think too much. Sit down with your family, or alone, and have a happy watch. There's nothing in this 1980 Filmfare award winner that can disappoint you. Although, one song seems to stretch it a bit but on the whole this is another sheer entertainer from Mukherjee.

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Needs some re-casting (Holi Ayee Re)

Harsukh Jagneshwar Bhatt must have been seriously cashstrapped. Or else, why would he squander away a reasonable good script by casting some absolutely unknown faces in his Holi Ayee Re. The best he can manage are some famous character actors who salvage the film from the brink of disaster. But I feel, this 1970 romance-cum-family drama would have done fairly well if we would have had a better and a more formidable cast. Here's how...

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Inane accusations (Aap ki Kasam)

Now tell me something: Why is everyone in Aap ki Kasam losing sleep over how to exonerate Kamal? Why are they so driven towards showing him sympathy? Does he really deserve any? An insecure and stupid man who brings nothing but unhappiness to everyone around him, Kamal should have just been ignored and allowed to live his life the way he wanted to. I sound harsh, but please, after what he does, I feel he deserved nothing but that...

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True lies (Jhoothi)

Rekha's on a rampage in Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Jhoothi.  Not that in her other films she is any bit dull or drab, but in this comic caper, she is just so boisterously marvellous that you cannot help but glue your sight, smell and every other sense on her. Playing the tomboy Kalpana, she dons the role of a pathological liar. But the difference between her and a wicked weasel is that she lies for a purpose--always a good one. Her lies helps long lost friends meet, helps her sister evade an unwanted alliance and charts an escape route for herself from a sticky situation. Most importantly, this habit of hers helps an innocent from being sentenced to death.

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Seven day saga (Woh Saat Din)

If Sonam Kapoor were half as talented as her father, Anil Kapoor wouldn't have to tax his brains double time on how to secure a sound future for his pretty-but-plastic offspring. The father was really a thorough entertainer. He acted well, right from his first films, carried some rhythm in his toes and was cute to look at. Look at his flamboyant portrayal of a village bumpkin in Woh Saat Din and you'd know that Anil Kapoor was serious about the trade he was getting into. In his first lead role as Prem Pratap Patialewale, Anil Kapoor leaves an indelible impression on sensitive minds. The film, a funny yet sweet saga about a simpleton struggling it out in the big bad city, is a window to the talent that Anil Kapoor would only unleash in his later films. That he was not just riding the popularity of his producer father Surinder Kapoor, but striving to prove that he deserved reckoning is only too true in Bapu's Woh Saat Din.

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A superlative endeavour (Koshish)

Whenever I see a film about complex human emotions and end up being disappointed, I mull over the idea of how Gulzar would have treated the subject. Yes, I'm  partial to the man and his art. For me, he is the sole creator of those films that have the power of extracting the last drop of tears from your eyes. But his brand of movie making is not loud, melodramatic or heart-wrenching. He is a magician with a very subtle flamboyance. He comes, narrates a simple story and goes. And even before you realise it, the story casts such an indelible impression on you that you keep thinking about the beauty, or the surprises, that life has in store for everyone. Like how Gulzar does in Koshish. A saga that could have very well be one tearjerker is not so because of the finesse and restraint that the director exhibits. Hope and survival, the two main qualities in this film, layered with a stunning picture of love and togetherness, could not be better depicted.

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Only for Amiran (Umrao Jaan)

The last time I met Meera Ali, and that would be about fours years ago, I kept singing praises about her husband's landmark film. The elegant personality that she is, Meera took my childish prattle rather sportingly and invited me to her house in Mumbai where I could meet Muzaffar Ali. Elated at the offer, I hardly gave enough attention to her new collection of weaves and clothes, which she was showcasing in Kolkata for the first time. Mind you, I was yet to see Umrao Jaan then.

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Red hot (Mirch Masala)

Mirch Masala is like garam masala, the condiment that spices up most Indian curries. Aromatic, flavoursome and full of colour. Similarly, Ketan Mehta's 1985 film is more than just a visual splendour. Set in remote Gujarat, it leaves a spicy and tingling sensation long after Sonbai's gaze fades out. Your eyes start burning once the haze of the red chilli powder clears, you want to drink a glass of crystal clear water because the arid landscape has left you parched and then maybe, you shake yourself up from your stupor of admiration for a second round of the film. Yes, that tingling sensation is truly worth many more tries.

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Simply sweet (Chitchor)

If Sooraj Barjatya were to heed his grandfather's principles, Main Prem ki Diwani Hoon would not have happened. And, we would have been saved from the onslaught of poor performances, bad characterisation and shoddy execution. For, this remake of Chitchor, Basu Chatterjee's adorable romance, lacks simplicity, an ingredient that made the 1976 classic so memorable. Tarachand Barjayta, with a penchant for setting his non-convulated social dramas in small towns and villages, made sure that his films stole your heart. And, Chitchor did that...
Reflecting the innocence of commoners living in small towns (as well as their trials, tribulations, joys and sorrows), Chatterjee centred this triangular love story on simple people's dreams, aspirations and hopes.

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